Foods for a brighter smile

Brushing with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) can make your teeth shine just like a commercial toothpaste, but everyday foods can also help your smile look its best, and they're more fun. Natural whiteners are often cheaper, and there are other natural ways to look after your teeth, gums and breath and keep your mouth fresh and clean.

Here are some things you can eat or drink to keep your teeth like jewels and stay away from the dentist.

Cheese: there's a reason the French serve cheese for dessert. Eaten after a meal, the calcium in cheese strengthens teeth, and cheese stimulates saliva, which cleans the teeth and protects the whole mouth from unwanted plaque.
Tea: drink tea like the British. A cup after a meal doesn't just settle the stomach and make you feel warm and relaxed: black or green tea can clean the mouth by killing the bacteria that build up around the teeth, on the tongue and under the gums.
Crunchy food: raw carrots, celery, apples, radishes and jicama (a Mexican root) act as natural cleaners, loosening and removing food stuck between the teeth or in the gums. Crunchy fruit and vegetables scrub your teeth like fine sandpaper and make them shinier.
Shiitake mushrooms: instead of ordinary mushrooms on your pizza, try shiitake. They contain a plant substance called lentinan that naturally fights bacteria and plaque, keeping your mouth clean.

Of course, many things we eat and drink every day harm our teeth, such as fizzy drinks, which do a lot of damage, fruit juices and sports and energy drinks.

Fizzy and energy drinks attack tooth enamel, and their acidity helps bacteria grow and causes gum problems later on. Swapping one can of soda a day for several glasses of water, or drinking fizzy drinks through a straw, can reduce the damage. Sticky foods and sweets can also leave residue on your teeth for longer: experts say we should avoid caramel, sweets and pastries, and even starchy foods such as white bread and crisps, or brush straight after eating them, or chew sugar-free gum, which helps remove what is stuck between the teeth.